The Stuff Of Legends
by DesperateRice
Summary: The Densetsu no Sannin. Three of the most powerful shinobi to be born from Konoha since the Shodaime Hokage. Tales of their glory range the world over, mostly spoken in hushed whispers. This is the story of how they came to be, a coming of age tale for three promising ninja!


**Chapter 1: It Takes A Village**

 **Authors Notes: So, I** **'ve been reading fanfics for a while, and of all the ones I've seen, I haven't really been able to find one that encapsulates the very aura of the Original Densetsu No Sannin. What really happened during all those years, the most formative ones, for three of the strongest shinobis to ever come from the Konoha gene pool? Well, I'm not Kishimoto-san, so I have no idea. However, that will not deter me from trying to shed some light on what could have been the tale of not one, but THREE gutsy ninjas!**

 **Also, goes without saying, but I do not own Naruto. Kami could only imagine what the story would have looked like if I did.**

"Sandaime-sama, you can't! It would be reckless of you to take on more duties outside of your role at this time!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked down and shook his head wearily, trying to avail himself of the reproachful tone coming from his female councilor. He raised his eyes, hoping her attention had moved on, but unfortunately her eyes were held firmly on his, arms crossed defensively as she waited for his response.

"Koharu, I understand your reservations, but I must. The village needs more shinobi who can defend her, lest the Leaf grows weak in its complacency."

"It's not necessary, Sandaime-sama, there are other Jonin in the village who can lead them, why do you feel this inane sense of requirement to a bunch of Academy brats?" she asked him, glancing over at her male counterpart, Mitokado Homura, for backup. He stared at her over his glasses, eyes pleading with her to quiet down. "Homura, please help me talk some sense into him!"

Homura sighed, pushing his glasses up further on his face. "There is no point Koharu-chan, you know how stubborn he can be. The two of you butt heads constantly, this should come as no surprise." They honestly were the definition of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. "Hell, even DANZO can find the wisdom to go with his wishes, and yet you still find yourself trying to counter his orders. Is that the kind of attitude you want to show to the other shinobi?"

"Of course not! I merely want him to think before he sets up this hair-brained scheme! Teaching a group of genin will require him to be in the field with them and Konoha can NOT afford to lose her leader to some C-Rank gallivanting!"

"Enough of this!" Hiruzen slammed his palms onto the desk of the Hokage, squaring his shoulders as he stood up to look his advisors in the eyes. "Koharu, this matter is finished. There will be no need for C-Rank missions for at least 8 months, we are in a time of peace thanks to the sacrifices of all the shinobi who came before us, not least of all, Niidaime-sama! Or have you forgotten about the battle with Kinkaku?"

"Of course not," she snapped at him bitterly. How dare he bring that up. It had been a few years but the death of her sensei was still fresh in her mind as if it had only been yesterday. "It's precisely because of his sacrifice that I feel this way. I can't sit here and believe that you would throw it away, all for the chance to show off to a few lousy brats."

Hiruzen sat down, quelling his rage at the woman.

"That is not my reason for wanting this. These three students show incredible promise. Two are orphans with near perfect scores and the other is Senju Tsunade, the granddaughter of Shodaime-sama. These three children could be the perfect conduits for the Will of Fire, and Kami be damned, I will be the one to guide them on their way." With that, he waved his hand, dismissing the two advisors. Koharu opened her mouth, ready to continue the argument but Homura placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head at her.

"Come, Koharu-chan, let us go get something to eat and leave Hiruzen to his work." He led her out by the shoulders, giving the Hokage a small smile, laced with unspoken apologies. He knew it would blow over, after Homura had been the mediator of his group since its inception. Between Danzo, Koharu, and Hiruzen, there had been arguments almost daily.

The Hokage leaned back in his chair, staring out the window overlooking his village. It still didn't feel right to him, calling the village his. He had only been in power for a few years, after all. He could remember the day of his appointment vividly in his mind. After all, battlefield promotions don't come around very often, he thought regretfully.

 _Hiruzen was running. Hiruzen was searching. Hiruzen was worrying. Hiruzen was surviving._

 _As he jumped from branch to branch, he kept his head on a swivel searching for any signs of life from his team. They all needed to survive, he would not let any of them fall so far from the village. He looked ahead and caught a quick glance of gray armor flashing through the treetops. Channeling chakra to his legs, he put on a burst of speed to catch up, keeping his kunai ready in case of enemy attacks. Recognizing the spiky black hair of his teammate, he called out to him in an attempt to get his attention._

 _"Danzo!"_ _  
_ _  
_ _The man turned his head slightly, falling back as he saw his comrade reach his side._

 _"Saru! How did you fare since we split up? Still in one piece I see?"_

 _Hiruzen couldn't hide his smirk as he heard the remark. "Of course! It'll take more than 3 Kumo shinobi to take down the strongest Jonin in Konoha! Any signs of Kagami or Koharu?"_

 _Danzo nodded, having sensed their chakra just a few moments ago. "Yes, they are all a few dozen meters ahead, I can feel them along with Niidaime-sama. If we hurry, we can be there in just a few moments."_ _  
_ _  
_ _Picking up their pace, they continued their journey through the forest. Finally seeing their compatriots, they hopped down and landed lightly in the clearing, taking the two empty spots in the circle, the Niidaime at the head._ _  
_ _  
_ _The Niidaime was an imposing figure, clad in blue shinobi armor reminiscent of his brothers with a fur lined hood. Instead of a hitai-ate, he wore a steel happuri, proudly displaying the symbol of the village he was sworn to protect. Red eyes stared out at the six shinobi around him, gauging their resolve at the situation. He placed two fingers on the ground and closed his eyes, sending out a heavily refined chakra pulse in order to gauge the size of the enemies forces._ _  
_ _  
_ _"Listen closely, we don't have much time. There are twenty enemy soldiers ahead of us, closing in quickly. From the feel of their chakra, I would guess that they are most likely from Kumogakure. We are going to need a diversion, something large enough to draw all their attention while we escape. One of us will have to go. Who would like to volunteer?"_ _  
_ _  
_ _Tobirama opened his eyes, looking at his squad. He had already made up his mind to be the diversion. He was the fastest shinobi alive, no one would be able to outrun him in the forest. This was his final test for young Hiruzen. He had been grooming him since he became his sensei, watching as Hiruzen came to embody everything he and his brother had stood for when creating the village._

 _He looked over at his other promising student, Shimura Danzo. While not as strong or tactically minded as Hiruzen, he had also embraced the Will of Fire, making sure all of his decisions were for the good of the village as a whole. He could see the sweat on Danzo's brow shining, while his hands nervously clenched on his knee. It was understood that a shinobi had no death as honorable as to die in battle, and yet knowingly walking to your death, even to save your friends, was no easy task._

 _"I volunteer."_

 _Every head turned to stare at Hiruzen, except Danzo's. His hands relaxed but his mouth went agape, eyes glazing over as the words sunk in. A mix of anger and shame slowly started to appear on his face while his shoulders quaked with rage._ _  
_ _  
_ _"No. I was going to volunteer, why does it always have to be you?!" Danzo whispered, still with his knees bowed and his head bent. He looked up as a hand fell on his shoulder, HIruzen's face grinning at him._ _  
_ _  
_ _"Danzo, please protect everyone. I know I can only entrust their safety to you know."_ _  
_ _  
_ _As Danzo struggled to find the words to say, a hundred different trains of thought barreled through his mind, ranging from relief to rage to regret, he was spared a response by a single word._

 _"No."_

 _The Niidaime stood up, hands on his hips, while staring at the two shinobi under his tutelage._

 _"I will be the decoy. Danzo, you mustn't compete against Hiruzen for everything. Some goals can only be attained through cooperation. You need to work WITH each other, not against, in order to become strong enough to properly look over the village after I'm gone. Know that I am proud of all of you for who you have become, the next generation to safeguard Konoha against all threats. Go forth with this knowledge and become the ninja I know you to be. Oh, and Saru?"_ _  
_ _  
_ _Hiruzen stood up after hearing the nickname that his sensei had given him back when he was a genin, fresh out of the Academy._

 _"As of tomorrow, you are the Hokage. Stand as tall as the tree from which the leaves grow on, and lead our village to peace and prosperity, the likes of which my brother and I could only have dreamed of. Good luck, Sandaime-sama."_ _  
_ _  
_ _With that, Tobirama sped off in the direction of the twenty Kumo ninja, ready to lay down his life to protect his village and its inhabitants._ _  
_ _  
_ _Tears streamed down Hiruzen's face as he turned to face his squad. Everyone stood up, making last minute adjustments to their packs as they looked to their new leader for direction. He steeled himself, eyes boring into each and every face as he took a deep breath._

 _"Alright everyone, let's get back quickly. Kagami, take point and we'll assume a diamond formation with Danzo and I in the center. We CANNOT let the Niidaime's sacrifice be in vain!" With that, the squad took of as one, making their way back to the village._

 _He would run. He would fight. He would kill. He would survive._

Hiruzen stood up, stretching his back until h heard a satisfying pop as he searched around the desk for the background information on the team he had selected to lead. He finally found the scroll, buried under a sizeable mountain of memorandums, ranging from D-rank missions from around the village, to a request for an escort of the Daimyo himself. Muttering to himself, he put that one aside, making a mental note to send a hawk with his assurances that he would put together the finest team of Jonin he could muster.

Placing the scroll into his robes, he prepared to leave his office for the day. As he descended the stairs leading to the front door of the Hokage Tower, a noise from behind him caused his footsteps to falter. Turning swiftly, he bent into a defensive crouch, right hand placed just above his ankle, just in case he had to draw a kunai.

After several seconds with no incoming attack, he straightened his pose and strode forward decisively, allowing a small amount of Killing Intent to leak from his tenketsu. Just ahead, he noticed a bush trembling slightly, and he could hear a small voice panting from behind it. He walked over to it and parted the leaves to see a small boy with spiky white hair staring up at him, eyes as wide as saucers. Hiruzen smiled at him, extending his hand to the young boy, hoping to assuage his fears and help the boy to relax.

"Well hello there, Jiraiya! I didn't expect to formally meet you until tomorrow! May I ask, what brings you out skulking around by the Tower?" Hiruzen was still smiling, inwardly laughing at the childish antics of his soon-to-be student. Within a second, the boys face had gone from scared witless to overenthusiastic grinning. He jumped up, executing a neat back flip and landed with his left arm behind his neck, laughing at his failed attempt at stealth.

"Oh ya know, I was just out and about and wanted to see if my new jutsu had worked! Looks like I still need to practice it though, I'll never be able to peek at the bath hou-, er I mean, do reconnaissance for the Village! Yeah, that's what I meant!" He pulled at the collar of his shirt, visibly sweating at his slip up in front of the leader of the village.

Hiruzen couldn't help but laugh at the poor boys pitiful excuse, it seemed as if he already had his work cut out for him with this team, if Jiraiya's antics were any indication. "Alright, alright, fair enough! We can't have you turning into a master stealth artist at only 6, I'll be out of a job! Then YOU'D have to take over as Hokage!"

Jiraiya blanched at the prospect, shaking his head as rapidly as his neck would allow without it flying clear off his body. "No thanks, I think I'll pass! That much paperwork would get in the way of all of my recreational time!" He looked up at the Hokage and thought he could almost see the gears turning in his mind to figure out a way to get him into the robes and decided it was a safe time to make a quick escape. "See ya, Hokage-sama, I gotta run! Tomorrow morning at 7 right?" With that question, he spun on his heels and took off into the trees, not looking back in case the movement caused him to trip and fall into his teachers clutches.

Hiruzen laughed uproariously, tears streaming down his cheeks as he held his sides to keep them from stitching. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to steady himself, he called out to the young boy, "Training ground 10! Don't be late and DON'T EAT BREAKFAST!"

Jiraiya almost stopped when he heard the advice, wondering why on earth he would skip the most important meal of the day. "Huh, must be some cruel trick to make me weaker so I don't stand out tomorrow! As if!" he scoffed, a slight chuckle escaping his mouth. "I'll eat TWO breakfasts, and REALLY show him who's boss!"

Jiraiya made his way to his apartment, a small one bedroom affair on the ground floor of the village's poorer district. It wasn't an extravagant setup, but it was his. He entered the apartment, leaving his sandals at the door as he went to lay down. He knew he had a long day ahead of him tomorrow, but it was the start of his shinobi career and he was determined to start with a bang!

 **Okay, so this chapter was a little shorter than I wanted it to be, but I figured this would be a logical closure point, no sense in dragging it out any further. Next chapter will be the introduction of the team and the infamous bell test! That may take two chapters, depending on how into it I get. Going to shoot for updates every 3-5 days, depending on my schedule. Also, this is going to be a long fic, spanning their lives before their initial appearances, and then it may divulge from canon a bit just to end the story on my terms and not Kishimoto's! Constructive criticism is always welcome, as are reviews of the content! I'm an open book, so to speak!**


End file.
